Julián Castro to campaign in Flint Saturday

Julián Castro will be the 14th Democratic presidential candidate to visit Michigan and the first to stump in Flint.

His campaign announced he’ll do three events on Saturday. Castro was former President Barack Obama’s Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the former mayor of San Antonio, Texas.

Democratic presidential debate held at the University of Michigan-Flint, 2016 | Susan J. Demas

Flint played a central role in Michigan’s March 2016 Democratic presidential primary, which took place as national media were focused on the water crisis. The Democratic National Committee held a debate in Flint for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

Castro’s campaign said he first visited Flint that month in his capacity as HUD secretary.

On Saturday, Castro is scheduled to first tour the Flint farmers market and meet with Flint Mayor Karen Weaver and U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Flint). He is then slated to visit the First Trinity Missionary Baptist Church and water distribution site and host a town hall discussion with local residents.

He will be the third presidential hopeful to make it to Michigan this week. On Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) campaigned in Lansing and Detroit, while Washington Gov. Jay Inslee toured a neighborhood in Detroit.

Susan J. Demas is an 18-year journalism veteran and one of the state’s foremost experts on Michigan politics, appearing on MSNBC, CNN, NPR and WKAR-TV’s “Off the Record.” In addition to serving as Editor-in-Chief, she is the Advance’s chief columnist, writing on women, LGBTQs, the state budget, the economy and more. Most recently, she served as Vice President of Farough & Associates, Michigan’s premier political communications firm. For almost five years, Susan was the Editor and Publisher of Inside Michigan Politics, the most-cited political newsletter in the state. Susan’s award-winning political analysis has run in more than 80 national, international and regional media outlets, including the Guardian U.K., NBC News, the New York Times, the Detroit News and MLive. She is the only Michigan journalist to be named to the Washington Post’s list of “Best Political Reporters,” the Huffington Post’s list of “Best Political Tweeters” and the Washington Post’s list of “Best Political Bloggers.” Susan was the recipient of a prestigious Knight Foundation fellowship in nonprofits and politics. She served as Deputy Editor for MIRS News and helped launch the Michigan Truth Squad, the Center for Michigan’s fact-checking project. She started her journalism career reporting on the Iowa caucuses for The (Cedar Rapids) Gazette. Susan has hiked over 3,000 solo miles across four continents and climbed more than 60 mountains. She also enjoys dragging her husband and two teenagers along, even if no one else wants to sleep in a tent anymore.